


When The Devil Comes Knockin'

by ZanzaFlux



Series: Shadows of the Studio [7]
Category: Bendy and the Ink Machine
Genre: Alternate Universe - 2D Bendy (Bendy and the Ink Machine), Ink Henry AU, You'll see what I mean, not sure how to tag this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-05
Updated: 2018-07-14
Packaged: 2019-06-05 21:03:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,805
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15179360
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZanzaFlux/pseuds/ZanzaFlux
Summary: When does a nightmare become more that just a nightmare?  What do you do when you realize you have no control over what's going on in your life?  June is about to be confronted with these very questions.  The answers may not be what any of them expected.





	1. Don't Let Him In.

**Author's Note:**

> This story is based on the ink!Henry AU created by @shinyzango and @themarginalartist on tumblr. Their artwork and stories inspired me.

Almost two months have passed since Henry and his family escaped the Studio. June still has a noticeable limp and she gets a twinge in her side from her healing ribs. But other than that, life had kinda returned to normal. Well as normal as having a living toon as a nephew, the girls writing letters to inky creatures in a haunted cartoon studio, or her brother having ink flowing through his veins. Yeah, y'know…normal. Well, they all agreed that their lives will never be dull.

Henry kept his word. He visited his sister more, much to the delight of his toony companion. Beth and Sarah were more than happy to show Bendy the things they've learned in school so far. The weather was still comfortable enough for them to go to the park or explore around the lake. The little toon loved that because he always found something new whenever he went out there. And even though the lake still scared him, he had to admit, the shimmering waters were beautiful.

June swallowed her pride for a few weeks so that her mother-in-law could help her around the house and with the girls. In reality, it wasn’t that bad. Sure, the two women got into heated arguments from time to time. Mainly because June thought Momma Anderson was being too pushy when it came to helping out. After calming down and thinking things through, she knew the elder Anderson was right…but darn it if it didn’t burn her up to admit that.

Jason knew how she felt about the situation and would comfort her during those long, quiet nights. She was so grateful for him. June knew how difficult she could be at times and her husband had been nothing but patient with her. Every day she thanked her lucky stars that they all got out of that studio alive. She didn’t know what she would have done if she had lost any of them. Thank goodness she never had to find out.

June was able to move around and do things around the house without assistance. She still couldn’t drive her car because of her ankle, but even she could admit she wasn’t ready for that yet. The stitches was taken out and she still had a nasty scar on her shoulder. It was a little stiff but she was getting stronger everyday. Still, Momma Anderson seemed satisfied with June's progress and decided it was time to head home with the promise that if they needed her, she would come back.

So June finally had the house to herself again. The girls were in school, Jason was on the road, and she was sitting at the kitchen table talking to Henry on the phone. He was making it a habit to call her more and she was happy for that. She never wanted to loose touch with him. The whole reason she had that fateful visit with him all those months ago was because she could feel him pulling away. She didn’t know why at the time and it scared her. Needless to say, she had no idea that things would snowball the way it did. Still, she didn’t regret meeting the little toon that not only changed her brother's life, but her own as well.

There are times when June would have a nightmare, then the next day she'd be jumping at shadows and sudden noises when she was home alone. She felt incredibly silly once she calmed down and kept those instances to herself. She really didn’t want to worry anyone because she got scared from time to time. She knew she could never forget those ink covered floors or yellowing wood…or the cold touch of the demon…

June shut her eyes tightly as she fought to keep those memories from dominating her mind. If she let those fearful thoughts creep in, she would probably end up curled up in the corner…again. That's something else she kept from her family. June figured she just needed time and she would be alright. Even the girls woke up some nights screaming because of a nightmare, but June and Jason was there to make sure they were alright. Beth and Sarah seemed to bounce back from it all a lot quicker then herself. She was willing to put up with a few nightmares if it meant the girls didn’t have too.

As for Jason, he only admitted once to having nightmares and it was mostly about not being able to get to his family in time. It was one of the few times where his laid back façade would crack and she could see the anger simmering just underneath. After that, he didn’t want to talk about it anymore. The only way she knew he had a nightmare was when he became extra clingy. June wouldn’t say a word. She would just hold him until he realized she was fine. That they were all fine.

**-The Next Day-**

June got up early to fix breakfast. Jason would be hitting the road that morning and she didn’t want him to leave on an empty stomach. Beth and Sarah came downstairs and rushed into the kitchen so they could all eat together before the school bus showed up.

June really cherished moments like this, especially when her brother and nephew were there. It was so much fun to have everyone talking and laughing at the same time. It's a little chaotic but she wouldn’t have it any other way.

The school bus pulled up in front of the house just as the girls finished eating. They hugged their mother and father before grabbing their backpacks and running out the door. Jason kissed June, grabbed his duffle bag, and he was off to work. She had the house all to herself. At least for a few hours. This was the best time for her to get some work done in peace.

June went from bedroom to bedroom, picking up toys off the floor and returning them to their proper place in the toy box. She gathered up the dirty clothes and headed down to the basement. June turned on the light. There was a little bit of sunlight pouring through the small basement windows. It warmed up the space and made it nice and comfortable for her. She even kept a small radio down there so she could listen to music while she worked.

June found a nice jazz station to listen to and got to work sorting the clothes. Jason set up a bench and chair so she wouldn’t have to be on her feet for too long. She was surprised how relaxing she found this to be. There was a certain peace to be found in folding clothes, as strange as that might all sound.

June had just placed a load in the washing machine and afterwards, she was going to hang it on a line outside. It was early enough and the weather was still mild. It was perfect for infusing a bit freshness into the clothes and sheets. She took this time to close her eyes and listen to the soft jazz music drifting from her radio. The bus wouldn’t be dropping the girls off until that afternoon so June tried to enjoy this while she could.

She could feel herself drifting off to sleep. The sounds from the washer and the radio was lulling her into a profound sense of calm. That was until a strange static sound came from her radio. The sound startled her out of her light slumber. The static was growing louder. June grabbed the radio and moved the antenna around but couldn’t get a signal.

“Oh great.” June grumbled. She tried different stations but all she got was more static. She was about to turn the radio off when the lights started to flicker. “What’s going on?” June looked at the light hanging from the ceiling. The bulb kept blinking on and off. Each time it did, she could have sworn it was getting dimmer and dimmer. Not only that, but the room felt cold for some reason.

June stood up. Maybe the fuse was starting to go. She started to walk towards the fuse box when the lights went out. She knew something was really wrong because there was no sunlight coming in through the windows either. June could see…something slithering across the glass. It was just too dark to see what it was. The static from the radio grew louder all of a sudden and she dropped it. June could feel her heart beating quickly. That familiar fear was creeping up on her. She began to stumble around as she moved towards the stairs.

The lights flickered a few more times before they finally steadied. What June saw made her stop dead in her tracks. There were inky veins crawling up the walls and across the windows, casting eerie shadows all around her. She gasped and stumbled back towards the washing machine. Ink was dripping from the ceiling and creating puddles on the floor.

“No no no no…this can’t be real!” June was shaking badly. It had been awhile since she had an episode like this. She closed her eyes and tried to concentrate on her breathing. Her heart was beating so hard, it hurt. All she had to do was head for the stairs. She'll be alright if she could just make it to the stairs…

Her already scattered thoughts ground to a halt when she heard wheezing laughter coming from across the room. June shook her head. It couldn’t be him! This was just in her head. It wasn’t real. She refused to open her eyes, even when she heard footsteps shuffling her way.

June almost stopped breathing when she felt something looming over her. ‘Don’t open your eyes, don’t open your eyes, don’t open your eyes…’ She knew she shouldn’t have, but she couldn’t help herself. June could feel the tears pooling in the corners of her eyes as she looked up into the face of the creature she hoped she'd never see again. The ink demon, ‘Bendy’!

‘Bendy' growled softy and reached out to her with his large gloved hand. June stumbled back. “NO NO NO NO NO! STAY AWAY FROM ME!” She screamed at the demon but he continued to moved towards her. June couldn’t take her eyes off his face. The way the teeth in his ever present smile seem to chatter and the ink continuously ran down his face.

June stepped back and tripped over the radio she dropped earlier. She fell and her back hit the washing machine. It was hard enough to knock the wind out of her. She gasped when the ink demon suddenly knelt in front of her. He made a strange, garbled sound as he reached out to her again. June curled up with her arms wrapped around her legs and her face pressed against her knees.

“You're not real, you’re not real, you’re not real…” she repeated over and over again. The vibration from the washing machine against her back, helped to keep her grounded. That monster couldn’t be here. She knew that. It was all in her head…all in her head…IT WASN’T REAL!

June jumped at the sound of an unfamiliar voice. “ _And in local news: A massive fire broke out at the Smith & Co's canning factory. Eleven people were hurt-“._ It was the radio?

She dared to open her eyes. The basement was back to normal! There was no ink to be found anywhere. The light was just as bright as it was when she first turned it on. Warm sunlight was streaming through the windows, the only sound that could be heard was the newscaster on the radio, and the washing machine that was just finishing up its load.

June stood up slowly but winced at the pain in her back. She took a few moments to catch her breath and tried to calm down. She hadn't had an episode this bad in weeks. It left her very shaken.

The alarm on the washing machine went off, letting her know the clothes were done. June grabbed them, threw them into the basket, and hobbled up the stairs as fast as she could. The quiet moments she loved to spend down in the basement didn’t seem so peaceful anymore.

* * *

 

After what happened that day, June had been a little skittish when it came to going down in the basement by herself. She often waited for the kids to come home from school or waited until the weekend to do the laundry. She would use the excuse of getting the girls to help her with the chores to hide the fact that she didn’t want to be alone.

Jason began to notice her odd behavior and asked if anything was wrong. At first she denied it, but after a lot of prodding from her husband, she finally broke down and told him what happened. He pulled her into a hug. He held her tight and told her that everything will be alright. That what happened was just her mind playing tricks on her. June knew he was right. It was just an old fear getting the better of her, except-

Lately, June began to notice that when she was alone in the house, strange things would happen. Well, it would be little things, like the pictures on the mantle being moved slightly, or toys she thought she put away would be sitting out again. Books in the shelf would be misplaced and someone even got into the cookie jar that she left in one of the high cabinets in the kitchen.

One morning, while the girls were eating breakfast, June had asked if they had snuck into the cookie jar. Both girls said “No.”. She knew they were telling the truth. Beth and Sarah were both too short to reach the cabinet, even if they were standing on a chair. She needed to ask for her own peace of mind. The fact that they couldn’t have done it made June very uneasy.

Jason told her that she was just being paranoid. Maybe he was right, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that someone was purposely moving things around the house. June would even send him into a room just to make sure someone wasn’t hiding in there. He did it without hesitation or making fun of her. She knew he was just humoring her but she really appreciated it. June was practically jumping at her own shadow the first few days they escaped the Studio. He knew how much that place scared her and he did everything he could to help.

After a few days, she just chalked it up to being absentminded. Maybe she was the one misplacing things or bumping into stuff. Ever since the day she had in the basement, her nerves had been a little frazzled. It was entirely possible that she was doing this stuff herself. She almost believed that, until-

Beth and Sarah had just left for school. Jason was in the backyard, working on ‘Lucy’ and June was in the girls' room. This was the perfect time to change the sheets and pick up stray toys here and there. She giggled when she heard the big rig stuttered as Jason tried to start it up. Every time something went wrong, he let loose a string of curses that would make a sailor blush. Good thing the girls weren’t around to hear all of that or she might have to implement a Swear Jar.

June took a small break and was standing near the window. She could see her husband waving his arms in the air and it looked like he was having a rather lively conversation with ‘Lucy'. Thank goodness that truck can’t talk back. She'd be telling him off right about now.

She chuckled softly but nearly choked on it as she watched inky veins slither across the window. As she backed away, the entire room grew dim and was covered in shadows. “No, no, no this can’t be happening again!”

A soft hissing sound caused June to whirl around, only to come face to face with the ink demon, again! He was blocking the only way out of the room and he had that sinister grin plastered on his face.

June just knew she was seeing things because he looked different from the last time she saw him. He was still tall and very imposing, but his body was skinner. The demon seemed emaciated, like a skeleton coated in thick ink. His ribs looked like they were broken and healed wrong but was practically collapsing in on itself. For a split second, she wondered how he could even breathe like that.

‘Bendy' tilted his head to the side, like he was studying her, before shuffling slowly towards her. June backed up until her back hit the window. He had her trapped! Just like before in the Studio. When he reached out and grabbed her face. She couldn’t breathe! The demon was going to kill her…NO! This wasn’t real! He wasn’t real. He was just a hallucination. She wasn’t going to let this nightmare control her life! Not anymore.

June gathered up all her courage, stepped away from the window, and marched right up to the ink demon. “You don’t scare me!” this declaration seemed to amuse the figment of her imagination. “You’re not real!” she yelled out as she raised her hand. She swiped at the hallucination to prove to herself that nothing was there, only-

Said hallucination grabbed her hand mid swing! For a moment, June just stared as her small hand was engulfed by his larger, gloved one. Her brain was screaming that you can’t touch a hallucination. He's real! She needed to run, or scream, or do anything except stand there and shake like a wet puppy!

‘Bendy' held her hand in a grip that wasn’t painful, but he made sure she couldn’t pull away. He hunched over and held her hand up to his face. The demon twisted her hand about as though he were studying it. If he had eyes underneath all that dripping ink, she couldn’t tell. June watched as the black substance rained down from the top of his horned head and down his body. That’s when she noticed that even though he was dripping ink on the floor, it wouldn’t stay for long. He seemed to absorb the ink back into his body so none was left behind. ‘ _Is this why he never left footprints?’_

June's thoughts were derailed when something cold covered her hand. She looked up to find ‘Bendy’ pressing the palm of her hand against his cheek. His smile seemed different but she was too scared to figure out why. Her hand was getting a little too close to his blocky teeth for her comfort. She wasn’t sure if he could open his mouth wide enough to bite her, but she didn’t want to take that chance.

The demon made a strange sound. It sounded like humming, but it was garbled. She didn’t understand what was going on and this set her mind reeling. June was surprised she was still standing from the way her legs were shaking. Just feeling the cold slickness of his ‘skin’ made her own skin crawl. Images of him grabbing her and pushing her into the darkness, made her heart beat painfully in her chest. What was he going to do to her this time?

‘Bendy' stopped rubbing his cheek against June's hand when she whimpered softly. He leaned in closer as though to get a better look at her face. The smell of rancid ink got stronger the closer he got. June was on the verge of a breakdown and wasn’t sure how much of this she could take. Luckily, a familiar voice became her salvation.

“Hey Juniper!” It was Jason! She opened her mouth to scream, but nothing came out. “Honey, are you up there?” The ink demon looked over his shoulder for a moment, then turned back to the frightened woman. “June? Is everything alright?” There was a slight pause, then they could hear Jason coming up the stairs.

‘Bendy' let June's hand slip out of his grasp. He straightened up, put a single finger to his mouth, and made a hushing sound. He slinked back into an inky portal that formed into the wall next to him and he was gone.

By the time Jason made it to the room, all evidence that the ink demon was there, was gone. Not a trace of ink on the walls, floors, or the window. Not even a footprint was left behind.

At some point, June's legs finally gave out and she collapsed to the floor in a sitting position. Her eyes were wide and slightly glazed over as she just stared at her hand. She looked absolutely shell shocked. Jason ran to her side.

“June? Juniper? What’s wrong?” She blinked a few times as she looked up at him. Her voice trembled as she tried to tell him what happened. Jason began to panic at the state his wife was in. He wrapped his arms around her and helped her to her feet. They sat down on Beth's bed and he rubbed June's back to get her to calm down.

Slowly, her body began to crumble against him and she broke down in tears. This caught Jason by surprise and he didn’t know what to say, so he just held her.

“Honey, what happened? What’s wrong?” June sniffled and rubbed at her eyes. She looked up at him with fear written all over her face.

“He-He was here!”

Jason looked confused. “Who?”

June tried to swallow passed a lump forming in her throat. She looked around the room as though just saying his name would make him appear.

“The demon! The one from the Studio. ‘B-Bendy’.”

Jason frowned slightly. “Juniper…”

June shook her head franticly. “He was here, I swear! He grabbed my hand. I thought I was seeing things, b-but he was real.” Her eyes were pleading as tears ran down her cheeks. “I know it sounds crazy, but you have to believe me…” Jason pulled her into another hug and told her that he did believe her.

Jason took a moment to collect his thoughts. “We need to talk to Henry.” He ran his fingers through her hair. June pressed her head against his chest and said nothing. Locked doors didn’t seem to stop a creature that could teleport right into their house. She just hoped her brother had some mystical way to keep the demon out or she could loose more than just her mind. She could loose her family.


	2. See Past Your Fears

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> June learns to look past her fears to see the truth.

“Henry, I don’t know what to do.” Henry was more than a little surprised to get a phone call from his brother-in-law. He knew it was serious from the concern that laced his voice.

“I checked the house from top to bottom. There wasn't a speck of ink to be found anywhere.” Henry could hear a shaky sigh on the other end of the line. “She swears up and down that the demon was here.”

_“Do you believe her?”_

“I've seen her have nightmares about him before. This is different. I've never seen her this scared before.” There was a slight pause. “I think something happened. I just don’t know what.”

_“If he IS coming into the house, I'm not sure how to stop him.”_ Henry wasn’t into that mystical stuff like Joey. He tried to stay as far away from black magic as he could. _“It doesn’t make any sense. June didn’t do anything to him. If anything, he should be coming after me or Bendy…”_

Jason could hear a soft growl over the line. He knew how angry it made Henry when anything involving the Studio affected his sister. _“Jay, I'm going to get into contact with Norman. I'm going to see if there is something in Joey's writings that'll help.”_

“Alright.” The line got quiet for a moment before Jason voiced what they were both thinking. “What if there's no way to stop him? I need to protect June and the girls…”

_“I know Jay. Even if I don’t find anything in those books, I'll stop him myself.”_ There was a tinge of anger in Henry’s voice. There was a silent agreement between the both of them. They would do everything in their power to protect their loved ones.

**OoOoOoOoO**

It had been a couple of days since the last incident with the ink demon. Jason and June were acutely aware that ‘Bendy’ could show up at any time and anywhere in the house and they couldn’t stop him. June was more afraid for her husband than herself. The last thing she wanted was for him to get into a fight with the deadly creature and get hurt or worse. She especially didn’t want anything to happen to the girls.

Jason tried to make sure that June wasn’t alone for long periods of time, but she knew he couldn’t do that forever. At some point he would have to take a job where he would be away for a few days. The girls have to go to school and besides, they were safer there than in the house at the moment. June was willing to face the monster alone if it meant no one else got hurt.

On this particular evening, June found herself cooking dinner while Jason and the girls were out at the store. He wanted her to come with them, but this was one of June’s bad days. Her ankle was starting to ache and she found it hard to stand on it for too long, even when she used her cane. He promised he would get what they needed and be back quickly. She told him she would be fine. There had been no sign of the demon after what happened in the girls’ room. Nothing had been misplaced or moved around like before. Maybe the demon got bored of his little game and is finally leaving her and her family alone. She also figured if she stuck to the open kitchen, she should be fine.

June had a few pots going on the stove. One was cooking rice, another was boiling with red kidney beans, diced tomatoes, and peppers, and the last was simmering with ground beef and onions. The perfect meal for a night like this: chili. The smells that floated through the kitchen were heavenly and she knew her family will love it. All she needed was to add a few seasonings and everything will be done.

So she found herself rifling through the cabinets. Apparently, someone had moved the chili powder and she needed to hunt it down. She looked here and there, but finally found it on a high shelf near the kitchen window. “Oh great, Jason must have put it here.” she grumbled. “He just loves using his height against me.”

June huffed as she stood on her good foot and stretched as far as she could. The tips of her fingers brushed against the jar of chili powder, causing it to tip and roll out of the cabinet.

“Oh no!” she tried to catch it. She knew if the small, glass jar hit the floor it might break. It barely slipped passed her finger and would have hit the floor…if not for the large, gloved hand that caught it!

June whirled around to find ‘Bendy’ standing right behind her. ‘Wha? When did he get here?’ her mind was screaming. There were no inky veins or a wheezing laughter that proceeded his arrival. He just stood there, quietly examining the bottle she almost dropped. He turned it over a few times in his large fingers before he stopped and looked down at her.

June was leaning back against the cabinets and was staring up at him. She couldn’t believe this was happening. How did he even know she was alone again? Further more, why did he even care that she was alone? Too many questions and there was no way the demon was giving her answers. Lucky for June, ‘Bendy’ left her just enough space for her to slip past him and make a run for it! She just had to time things just ri-what?!

The ink demon didn’t try to grab her this time. Instead, he held the bottle of chili powder out to her. June was confused. Surely this was a trick! If she reached for the bottle, he'll just grab her then. This was a game to him after all. June stared at him incredulously.

‘Bendy' hissed softly and tilted his head to the side. He held his hand out a little further to her. June grimaced as she stared at his hand. She really didn’t want to touch him. It seemed like he wanted her to take the bottle from him. What would happen if she didn't? Would he attack her and drag her off? Did she really want to take a chance trying to run from something that could teleport? June sighed internally. In the end she decided to play his game, whatever it was.

June tried to keep her hand from shaking at she reached for the bottle. She grasped the top of the bottle with the very tips of her fingers and plucked it from his large hand as quickly as she could. The ink demon just chuckled and turned away from her. He shuffled over to the other end of the kitchen and sat down, cross legged, on the floor. He didn’t do anything else, but watch her.

June was perplexed by the demon's odd behavior. “Wait, are you just going to sit there… and watch me cook?” she wasn’t really expecting an answer, but she sure as hell got one. His smile grew a little wider and he nodded. June's jaw dropped. She couldn’t believe it. Her expression made him chuckle even more. She knew she looked silly just gawking at him, but she honestly never thought she'd be in a situation like this.

After a moment of contemplation, June wearily moved over to the stove. She sprinkled the chili powder over the ground beef and onions. She stirred it in slowly. She would peak over her shoulder to see the demon watching her. Sometimes he would lift his head as though he were sniffing the air. June remembered a time where she questioned how her nephew could smell things without a nose. After awhile, she just accepted that the toon could. Seems the same held true for the ink demon.

By the time the rice was done, June had combined the beef, kidney beans, and the tomato mixture into one big pot. It all smelled so good, it even made her stomach grumble.

‘Bendy’ sat there the whole time and watched her. He had that same strange smile on his face that he had the other day. She began to notice it didn’t look as manic as it did in the Studio. In fact, it almost looked natural? No, relaxed. Maybe that's why it seemed so strange and somewhat non threatening.

A thoughtful expression crossed her face. June was about to do something really stupid. If Henry was here, he would call her crazy. She sighed and looked at the imposing demon that was sitting on her kitchen floor. “Would…you like to try some?”

‘Bendy’ seemed just as surprised by her offer as she was. He nodded his head very slowly as though he wasn’t sure he was giving the right answer or not. June grabbed a large bowl and spoon. She piled rice in the bottom then the chili on top. Once she was sure she put enough in, she handed ‘Bendy’ the bowl and spoon.

June stood back and watched as he examined the food. He sniffed at it and turned it a few times before shoveling out a good portion of chili onto the spoon. She watched as his blocky teeth rose up, leaving a gap wide enough for the spoonful of chili. June shuddered at how dark the inside of his mouth seemed to be. ‘Bendy' pushed the spoon into his mouth, then froze.

She grew incredibly nervous at his reaction until she heard that strange humming sound again. He pulled the spoon out of his mouth and went in for another spoonful. She just shook her head. The demon that she feared so much, that gave her nightmares for weeks…acted like a big kid that just found his new favorite food. This was too surreal.

“Heh, guess my chili tasted better than those old cans of bacon soup.” ‘Bendy’ shook his head and made a disgusted noise at the mention of the infamous food. Looks like the demon had enough sense not to touch the stuff even if he was as skinny as a walking corpse. What was her brother's excuse? Well, Henry always did have a cast iron stomach. He could eat almost anything and not get sick.

‘Bendy' finished his meal, stood up slowly, and shuffled towards June. She stiffened as he got closer, but he did nothing more than held out the empty bowl and spoon to her. She took the bowl from him tentatively and placed it in the sink.

The silence between them was very awkward. It made June skittish the way ‘Bendy’ just stood there and watched her. She was about to say something when the sound of a big rig pulled up to the house. June got very nervous as she stared at the front door. She knew Jason was going to walk in any moment with the girls and all hell will break loose. By the time June turned back to the demon, he was already gone.

Jason walked into the house to find June standing in the middle of the kitchen, staring at the wall. Right away he knew something happened. He asked if she was alright and she said she'd tell him what happened after dinner.

It was a good thing she waited till the girls went to bed to tell Jason what happened. She had never seen him so angry before. He couldn’t believe the demon came into his house, again. Even after June told him how the ink demon acted, he didn’t believe her. Jason felt the monster was just playing games with them and that he'll attack them if they let their guard down.

June wasn’t so sure. The way ‘Bendy’ acted was certainly strange, but he didn’t try to hurt them. Now that she had a chance to think about it, why did he go out of his way to only catch her alone. He purposely stayed away when the girls were around. Not once did Beth or Sarah even mention seeing the ink demon around the house. It’s almost as if he didn’t want to scare them…June shook her head. That was too far fetched, even for her.

Still, June tried to explain what happened to Henry over the phone, but he agreed with Jason. He felt it was all a trick.

_“June-Bug, I’m telling you…he can’t be trusted. He's a demon. He will hurt you.”_ June knew what happened between her brother and the demon. How he hunted Henry and Bendy down. How he hurt her brother multiple times and tried to turn Bendy against him. Hell, the ink demon even attacked her.  
  
“I-yeah…I guess you’re right. It's just that-“ June struggled to find the right words. “you should have seen him in the kitchen.” She ran her fingers through her hair out of frustration. “It doesn’t feel like a trick. It feels like he's looking for something.”

June grimaced at the heavy sigh from the other end of the line. _“June, don’t get near him again. He'll turn on you.”_ She could feel her heart sink at the concern in his voice. _“I-I don’t wanna loose you Juney.”_ She didn’t mean to make him worry.

“I promise, I’ll be more careful.” They both knew there wasn’t much she COULD do. Without a way to bar the demon from the house, he was going to keep coming back.

* * *

 

And come back he did. Only this time, he did it while Jason and the girls were in the house. One time, June had just finish cleaning the girls room. All of their toys were neatly put away. She went to the linen closet to get some clean sheets and when she came back, their wooden blocks were stacked up like a pyramid in the middle of the floor.

Another time, June came downstairs to find several of their photo albums open on the floor in the living room. She had to scramble to pick up the books before Jason saw them. She knew this would make him upset and even more cautious than he already was.

The thing that convinced June that the demon was treating this whole situation like a game is when she walked into the kitchen. The cookie jar was sitting on the kitchen table, opened, and with several cookies missing. June knew for a fact that she didn’t leave that out and it definitely wasn’t the girls because they were in school. It might have been Jason, but she doubted it.

“Alright ‘Bendy’!” June shouted to the open air. “I know you did this. Stop stealing the cookies!” The more silly things he did behind her back, the more absurd it all felt.

One quiet night, June couldn’t sleep. So she slipped out of bed, put on a robe, and headed downstairs. She figured a nice, hot cup of tea would help her. As she walked through the living room, she heard the floorboards creak behind her. June turned to see what made the sound, but nothing was there.

All of a sudden, a large, gloved hand landed on her shoulder. June yelped and jumped nearly a foot off the ground. The wheezing laughter let her know who it was.

“Geez Ben!” she placed her hand over her rapidly beating heart. “Don’t scare me like that! You’re liable to give me a heart attack!” June realized a little too late that she just yelled at the ink demon like he was one of her kids. Her eyes grew wide, she slapped her hand over her mouth, and took a few steps back.

‘Bendy’ seemed just as taken aback as she was. He tilted his head like a confused dog. **“Bennnn?”** He stretched the name out in a kind of long hiss.

June blinked owlishly as she slowly lowered her hand. “D-Did I say ‘Ben’?” The demon nodded. “Oh.” She looked up at him sheepishly. “Um, well…I already have a nephew named Bendy. I guess…I called you Ben to make things...easier on myself?”

The demon huffed and June began to wave her hands frantically. “Oh! Um, I'm so sorry! I-I didn’t mean to call...you...that…” She trailed off when the demon began to chuckle.

**“Bennnn. I…likkke…it.”** June reached up and massaged her temple. She could feel a head ache coming on. This whole situation was exasperating. She had no idea what was going on and she really needed answers before she lost what little sanity she had left.

“Ben? What do you want from me?” The demon stood there and stared at her with unseen eyes. The fact that he was perfectly still made her very nervous. When he finally started to move towards her, she stumbled back until the back of her legs hit the arm of the couch. He loomed over her for just a moment before leaning down and resting his head on her slim shoulder. June's breath caught in her throat. His skin was so cold…

**“Waaarrm.”** Ben hissed.

“W-What?!” June managed to stammer out.

The ink demon sighed. His cold breath caressed her cheek. **“Yoouu're verrrry…warrrmm…It’sss niccce…”** Ben slowly straightened up and backed away, leaving a very confused June standing in the middle of the living room.

She stared down at the floor, lost in thought. Was that the reason he kept coming around her? Because she felt warm? Now that she thought about it, he did feel really cold. Even Bendy didn’t feel as cold as his creepier counterpart. June looked up at him and smiled sadly.

“You don’t like the cold, huh?” She watched as his perpetual smile transformed into a profound frown. It startled her because she didn’t know he could do that.

**“The Studddio…isss cold…”** he tilted his head back, **“Joooey…wassss colddd…”** he growled out, **“Liinddda…wasss cold!”** When he looked down at June, his smile returned. **“You'rrrre warmmm.”** Ben turned and walked towards a nearby wall where a portal opened up. He disappeared into it and left June to think about what he said.

She collapsed onto the arm of the couch when she realized what he really meant. “Oh.” June ran her hand down her face. Things just got a whole lot complicated. Henry was not going to be happy about this.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I couldn't help myself. I like writing for the monsters. Enjoy everyone!


	3. Better the Devil You Know...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everything comes to a head when Henry decides to pay his sister a visit.

First thing in the morning, June was on the phone with her brother. She tried to tell him what Ben told her last night, but she couldn’t get a word in edge wise.

“ _Juney! Didn’t I tell you to stay away from him?_ ”

“Yeah, but-“

“ _No “ buts”! He's extremely dangerous.”_

“I-I know-“ she was getting frustrated. He wasn’t listening at all.

“ _No, you don’t know!_ ” Henry hadn’t yelled at her like this since they were kids. “ _You've only seen a fraction of the things he can do._ ”

“Henry please, just listen to me!” June knew she sounded desperate, but she didn’t care. “I really don’t think he wants to hurt me or Jason and the girls. He likes to scare me-“ she said under her breath, “but he hasn’t done anything to physically harm me.”

“ _June, you can’t trust him!_ ” She winced as he raised his voice. “ _You’re like a new toy to him. Once he grows bored of you…_ ” he trailed off and took a few deep breaths. “ _I don’t want you guys to get hurt. I don’t know what I would do if I lost you.”_

June's shoulders slumped at the concerned tone in his voice. It's not like they had never disagreed before and she even understood why he was so worried, but she knew she was right. He just won't listen. The line grew silent for a few moments before Henry broke it with a tired sigh.

“ _So far, Norman hasn’t been able to find anything in Joey's books. They aren’t exactly easy to get through._ ” June just shook her head. She really didn’t trust anything that came out of those books. “ _Look, I'm coming up there._ ”

June tried to argue that he didn’t need to, but Henry would hear none of that. “ _Juney, I'm coming whether you want me to or not.”_ June heard a soft chuckle on the other end of the line. “ _Besides, would you tell your nephew that he can’t come to visit you?”_

She grumbled softly, “Now you're playing dirty, old man! You know I could never tell my nephew he couldn’t come over.”

“ _Heh, I know_.” She could almost hear him smiling over the phone. “ _See you tomorrow, Juney.”_

June just shook her head. Henry knew how to play dirty when he needed to. “Yeah, yeah. See ya later old man.” She hung up the phone then slumped down in her chair. She just hoped Ben wouldn’t suddenly show up until she could get her brother to calm down.

“I don’t think I’m gonna be that lucky.”

**-The Next Day-**

Henry wasn’t fooling around when he said he'd be there the next day. He must have been driving all night to get to her house early enough for breakfast. That made Beth and Sarah very happy. They loved to spend time with their toony cousin before heading off to school. Breakfast was very lively that morning.

When the school bus arrived, June and Bendy walked the girls to the bus. Jason stayed behind with Henry so they could talk.

“So Norman and the others couldn’t find anything in those books?” Henry sighed and shook his head. Jason looked as frustrated as he felt.

“There were a few chapters on how to bind the demon and enslave it-“ Henry grimaced at the thought of anyone doing that to Bendy. “but nothing on how to repel the demon.” He glanced down at the pentagram etched in his hand. Norman was still searching, but hadn’t found a way to remove that either. “It’s typical Joey. So busy figuring out how to summon a demon, he put little thought into a way to keep it away.”

Jason chuckled at that. Sounds like the man was full of big ideas, but rarely thought of the consequences. He sobered up when June and Bendy came back to the house. “Bro, we need to talk to her.” Henry agreed.

June and Bendy walked back into the house. She was laughing as the little toon told her about a giant plastic cow he saw on the side of the road. As soon as she saw her brother and husband’s face, she knew she was in for a stern talking to.

So, here she was, sitting on the couch, and being lectured to like a child. They were practically ganging up on her. She understood why both men in her life was being so overprotective, but it was starting to get on her nerves. They weren’t listening or taking what she had to say seriously.

“Guys, c'mon! I know how dangerous he is, I really do-“ she took a few deep breaths to keep from loosing her temper. “but I don’t think he's going to hurt anyone.” Both men looked at her like she lost her mind. She hated that. She wasn’t some naïve child. Ben had plenty of chances to do something and he didn’t. Sure, he enjoyed causing mischief around the house and sneaking up on her, but that was about it.

“Aunt June?” she grew quiet as Bendy got her attention. It was odd to see such a serious look on his normally cheerful face.

“I’ve watched ‘Bendy’ hurt Henry over and over and over again. He was so relentless as he chased us through the Studio, that Henry often dropped from exhaustion.” The toon lowered his head and stared at his gloved hands. “He made me turn on my best friend…” He looked back up at her. His pie cut eyes glistened with unshed tears. “He’s evil and he will try to hurt you too. I won’t let that happen.”

“Oh sweetheart…” June reached out and took the little toon into her arms. While she comforted him, one thought ran through her mind, _‘Damn you old man! Using my nephew against me. I really hope Ben doesn’t show up…’_

June knew she needed to choose her battles wisely. There was no way she was going to convince them that Ben meant no harm. Not now. They were all too worried about her to see what was really going on. She'd have to find a way to convince them without a fight breaking out. The last thing she wanted was for someone to get hurt. So, she stopped arguing her point, for now.

Henry narrowed his eyes at his sister. He knew she was up to something. She gave up a little too easily. He watched as she helped Bendy calm down and promised that everything would be alright. But when she made eye contact with him, she gave him a look that screamed that this wasn’t over.

**OoOoOoOoO**

The early afternoon went by rather quietly until the girls got home from school. June made sure they sat down and did their homework before they could play outside. Bendy was more than happy to try and help them so they could finish faster. Once they were done, Bendy, Beth, and Sarah rushed out the front door to meet up with the other neighborhood kids.

The adults sat out on the front porch to keep an eye on them. At some point, the children loosely organized a game of stick ball in the street. More adults gathered to watch the kids play and watched out for oncoming cars. This proved to be a good opportunity for the parents to catch up with one another as well.

Henry could feel happiness flowing through the bond as the little toon interacted with the children. Bendy was standing on a makeshift base with a stick in his hand. One of the boys tossed the ball at him and the toon hit it, sending flying straight into the air. He took off like a shot around the other bases as the children scrambled to catch the ball. Henry knew that as a toon, Bendy could zip around those bases in no time, but he often ran at a somewhat normal speed to make things fair for the others. It always amazed him that the toon had such control over his abilities.

Sarah, being as timid around others as she was, tried to get into the game like everyone else. For the most part, the other kids understood, but there was one little boy that liked to tease her for it. She didn’t cry, but everyone could see the way she shied away from him as he got closer. Beth and Bendy were at her side before the boy's bullying could escalate. The little boy backed off at the sight of the toon and ran back to the house across the street.

Bendy really didn’t like bullies and seeing his cousin upset was making him very angry. Before he could say anything, June marched right past him and was having a rather angry conversation with the boy's parents. From the look on the other parents’ faces, Bendy was glad he wasn’t the one getting yelled at.

Jason came up to them. He picked Sarah up and asked if she was okay. She sniffled a little but nodded. He told Bendy and Beth that he would keep an eye on her and to go back to the game. They were a little reluctant to go back, but they did as they were told and finished the game.

June had already wandered into the house to get dinner ready. By the time it got dark and the kids headed home, she had a hot meal prepared. After everyone cleaned up, they all sat down to a piping hot plate of meat loaf, mashed potatoes, and baby carrots.

After a few funny stories at the dinner table, Sarah practically forgot about the bullying indecent. It was good to see her laughing and completely relaxed. Jason even joked about teaching her how to box and maybe she'll become the next heavyweight champion of the world! That made them all laugh but from the look on her husband's face, June knew he wasn't completely joking. He wanted his girls to be able to defend themselves if he wasn’t around.

The rest of the evening was spent playing games and watching a little television. Soon it was bath time for the girls and after that, bed time. Plus, the girls couldn’t stay up too late because they had school the next day. They weren’t too happy about that, but Bendy promised to be up in the morning with them to have breakfast. Jason took them by the hand and lead them upstairs.

“Oh boy. The older they get, the harder it is to get them to go to bed.” June chuckled.

“Hey, we were just as bad, remember?” Henry shot her a knowing glance. “We made dad chase us around to house to keep from going to bed. We're lucky he was such a good sport about it.” June smiles warmly as she remembered that. Leave it up to her brother to bring up how mischievous they were growing up.

“I have to go out to the car and get my bag.” Henry headed for the front door.

“Well, the guest room is ready for ya.” June headed for the kitchen to wash a few dishes. They both left Bendy in the living room. He was totally engrossed in a wild west show on TV. A tap dancing elephant could waltz through the room and he wouldn’t notice.

_‘So far, so good!’_ June thought. If Ben stayed away for a few days, that'll give her more time to talk to everyone. She stepped through the kitchen's archway and any hope she built up, came crashing down.

Ben was standing in the corner by the backdoor. He was holding the cookie jar in his large, gloved hand and digging into it with his smaller, ungloved one.

“BEN!?” The ink demon’s head shot up and his grin grew wider. He literally got caught with his hand in the cookie jar. June winced and looked over her shoulder. She signed internally. Henry was outside and Bendy was still watching TV.

She walked over to Ben quickly and snatched the jar out of his hand without saying another word. June put the jar down as quietly and quickly as she could. She flung open the backdoor before reaching out and grabbing his smaller hand.

Ben was so shocked that she willingly touched him that he let her pull him outside and onto the back porch. He stumbled slightly as she pulled him away from the door. June stopped and stared from the backdoor to the driveway then back at him. Ben wasn’t the best at reading human facial expressions, but he knew nervousness and fear when he saw it.

“Ben. You can’t be here right now.” She spoke in rushed, hushed tones and it peaked the demon's curiosity. “Please, you need to leave!”

“ **Wwwhhhyyy?** He tilted his head slightly. He wondered why she was so afraid. He knew he hadn’t done anything to scare her, this time.

“Please! You need to leave…” She ran her fingers through her hair as her eyes darted towards the backdoor. “Look, Henry and Bendy are here. I-I just need some time to talk to them-“ June stopped talking when the mood from the ink demon grew very dark.

**“Henrrrry…”** Ben growled the man's name out. He hunched over and slowly turned his head towards the backdoor. Ink snaked out from his body and spread like shadows across the ground and against the side of the house.

June took a few steps back when she realized what was going on. She remembered all the stories her brother and nephew told her. About the things that happened between them and the pain the demon caused them. June shuddered at the anger and killing intent that was rolling off his inky body in waves. She needed to stop him before something bad happened.

June ran in front of Ben before he could take a step and placed her hands on his chest. “Ben, please. I don’t want to see anyone get hurt!” The ink demon looked down at her and hissed angrily. The sound made her wince but she wouldn’t back down. “Just go!”

Ben's gloved hand shot out and he grabbed June's upper arm. She gasped then whimpered as he pulled her closer. His grip grew tight enough to hurt as she tried to push him away. He growled in her face, “ **I…wonnn’t…leeeaaave!** ”

**-Meanwhile-**

Henry walked back in the house and immediately felt a dull ache in his palm. The pentagram in his hand began to throb and he knew why. He looked around the living room but June was no where to be found. He remembered her heading towards the kitchen-

“Henry? What's wrong?” Bendy’s show was long forgotten when he felt the massive amount of concern streaking through their bond. He was by Henry's side within seconds.

“Bud, I think HE's here.” Henry stared down at his hand before balling it up into a tight fist. “We need to find June.” They both headed for the kitchen. She wasn’t there but the backdoor was slightly open. There was also something dark moving against the window and blocking the light from the porch.

A sense of dread seized his heart as he moved quickly towards the door. He pushed the door open and stepped out. “June?” Time seemed to freeze at this point. Henry saw the ink demon's hand gripping his sister's arm. It looked like he was pulling her close while she was trying to push him away. His inky veins were crawling around them on the ground and even up the side of the house. But what really made his blood boil was the look of terror on her face.

After a heartbeat of silence, time seemed to start up again for Henry. There was a flash of rage through the bond that didn’t come from him, a strange splashing sound, and a huge shadow fell over him. The next thing Henry knew, Bendy had rushed passed him in his monstrous form and barreled towards the ink demon.

Bendy's roared caused Ben's head to snap in his direction. Henry called out to his friend, but he was too angry to listen. He was afraid June would get hurt if Bendy hit the demon head on. But the demon did something that shocked him. Ben...pushed June out of the way just as Bendy tackled him and both ink creatures ended up sliding several feet across the yard.

Bendy ended up pinning Ben to the ground with one of large hand. He loomed over the ink demon as they hissed and growled at one another. Ben thrashed about but Bendy just held him tighter. The thought that this creature was hurting June was too much for him. He swore he wouldn’t let ‘Bendy’ harm anyone in his family!

Everything happened so fast that Henry was left standing on the back porch in shock. A moan from June snapped him out of his daze and he ran to her.

“Juney! Are you alright?” He knelt down and slipped his arm behind her back to help her sit up. She didn't seem hurt. She just had the wind knocked out of her.

“Henry?” Her voice was a little shaky and she looked very confused. “Wha-what happened?” Snarls and screeches caught their attention. “Oh, oh no-“ Henry helped her as she struggled to get to her feet.

Bendy lifted his other arm and curled his hand into a massive fist. He intended to pound the demon's demented grin into the dirt. He wanted to end this once and for all.

There was no way Ben was going to lay on his back and let this giant ink spot tear him apart. The fingers of his ungloved hand formed into long, sharp claws. He drove them into the hand that was holding him down and relished in the pained roar he managed to drag out of his counterpart. Bendy’s grip on him loosened enough for him to roll out of the way just as the toon's fist came crashing down where his head once was. Ben shimmied back on all fours before straightening up and brandishing his claws at his much larger foe.

Bendy stared at him with a visible eye that was almost completely black. He shook his injured hand and rolled his massive shoulders as he got ready for round two.

This is what she tried to avoid! Both ink creatures were standing a few feet from one another, growling and hissing like two angry cats. Hell, even the ink on their backs looked like raised hackles. June needed to do something before someone got her.

“Henry, we have to stop them!”

“What?!” he was shocked when June tried to pull him towards the fight.

“They will hurt each other over a misunderstanding. We can't let that happen!” June was a little unsteady on her feet, but she refused to let that stop her.

“Juney…” He wanted to argue. He wanted to keep her away from the impending fight so she didn’t get hurt. But after what he saw, maybe she was onto something. Besides, if things were going to get hairy, he'd be sure to pull her out of the way.

The siblings approached the standoff cautiously. “Ben! Bendy!” She called out to both of them but was completely ignored. Her own temper started to flare up as she left her brother's side before he could stop her. June marched up to and stood between to two angry creatures.

“BEN! BENDY! YOU STOP THIS RIGHT NOW!” Henry was a few inches from yanking his headstrong sister out of the way, but stopped when both ink creatures grew silent. They were both looking at her in complete shock. She turned towards the ink demon with a stern look on her face.

“Ben. This is my home and you are a guest here.” June stabbed a finger in his direction. “I will not stand by and watch you hurt my brother and nephew! If you try this again, you will no longer be welcomed here. Do you understand?”

Now Henry was readying himself for the violent reaction he was sure the demon was going to have. What he wasn’t expecting was for said demon's head to lower. His shoulders sagged and all the fight seemed to drain out of his body. Even his inky veins slowly faded. After a few moments of silence, Ben answered her. “ **Yessss, I…undersssstand.”**

Satisfied, June turned towards Bendy. As massive as he was at the moment, he looked incredibly nervous. He was rubbing his large hands together and didn’t take his visible eye off of her.

“Bendy. I know you just wanted to protect me, but a lot of people could have gotten hurt!” She sighed and rubbed her temples with the tips of her fingers. “I know what it looked like, but he wasn’t trying to hurt me…not on purpose.” June crossed her arms over her chest and stared up at him. “The point is, I will not allow any fighting in or around my house! Do you understand?” Her nephew nodded vigorously before lowering his head, looking thoroughly chastised.

Right at that moment, Jason busted through the backdoor. He had a bat wrapped in barbed wire in his hand and he looked like he was ready to use it. “Juniper!”

Henry chuckled and June ran her hand down her face. “It’s alright Jay.” June sounded very tired all of a sudden. “I don’t think we'll have to worry about a fight breaking out. Right boys?” Both ink creatures nodded.

Jason walked up to Henry and June. He was a little confused by what he was seeing. When he heard all the noise outside, he thought for sure he was going to find someone torn apart in his backyard. “What happened out here?”

“Well, believe it or not, June used her “Mom Voice” to stop these two from fighting…and it worked!” Henry chuckled at the heated glare his sister shot his way. He was still surprised by how effective it was on Ben.

A soft hiss from June caught everyone’s attention. Jason wrapped an arm around her waist as she leaned against him. Henry noticed she seemed to balance on one foot. “My ankle is bothering me again.” She grumbled.

“Hey Jay? Why doncha take June-bug over to the table so she can get off her feet.” Jason agreed and lead her over to the wooden picnic table that sat close to the house. Once his sister was resting at the table, Henry turned to Bendy. The large toon was eyeing the lanky demon but he made no move to attack him.

“Hey bud, I want you to go over and keep an eye on Jason and June. I need to have a word with…’Ben’.” Bendy whined and shook his head. He didn’t want to leave Henry alone with the demon. “It’ll be alright. I'll be fine, trust me.” Henry reached out to pat Bendy on his arm as he flooded the bond with reassurance. The toon relented. He shuffled off towards the table but made sure he was watching the demon at all times.

Henry was now face to face with the demon that nearly killed him and Bendy so many times. The same demon that kidnapped his family and dragged them to that hellhole of a studio. Henry almost lost everything because of him and he was still very angry because of that. He watched as the demon straightened up and hissed at him. Henry didn’t miss the way Ben’s clawed hand twitched as though he wanted to take a swipe at him. The man just sighed and shook his head.

“Y’know, I didn’t believe her.” Ben tilted his head slightly. “June kept telling me that you didn’t want to hurt her or her family. I told her not to trust you. That you would turn on her…” Ben growled and his clawed hand twitched more. Henry ignored him and continued.

“Nothing she said could convince me otherwise. Then you did something that surprised me. You pushed June out of the way.” Ben grew quiet and listened. “You kept my sister from getting hurt when Bendy attacked you.” Henry shot a quick glance towards his sister before stepping closer to the ink demon. Ben snarled, but stood perfectly still. Henry lowered his voice so the others wouldn’t hear what he had to say.

“You and I both know that I have no way of keeping you out of her house. Not yet anyway.” Henry narrowed his eyes at Ben. “As long as you don’t try hurt my family, I won’t tear you apart where you stand.” Henry shook his head slowly and his green eyes flashed red for just a second. Ben thought he saw sharp fangs when the man spoke again. “But hell help you if you do. I will hunt you down and destroy you!”

Ben tilted his head and watched as Henry schooled his features back into a mask of calmness. He turned and saw June rubbing at her ankle. She made eye contact with him and she looked a little worried. The demon hissed softly and lowered his head. “ **I wonnn't…hurttt…herrr. She'sss…very...kinnnd.”**

Henry blinked. He wasn’t expecting an answer from the demon. He definitely wasn’t expecting an answer like that. Maybe, just maybe, he could give the demon a chance. “Alright Ben.”

Ben shuffled over to the picnic table with Henry following close behind him. Jason and Bendy were weary of his approach, but June just smiled tiredly. He reached out but stopped short of touching her. He let his gloved hand fall limply to his side.

**“Are…youuuu…okaaay?”** June managed to stand as she reached out and lightly touched his arm.

“I’m fine Ben.” She pointed towards Jason. “Jay will let you come by as long as you don’t hurt anyone, okay?” He agreed. “Although…I'd appreciate it if you didn’t sneak up on me so much?” she smiled nervously.

Ben snorted and his smile grew a little mischievous. “ **Nooo prommmisess.** ” June chuckled and ran her fingers through her hair. She knew she was asking a lot with that one but she figured she'd give it a shot.

They all watched as Ben opened an ink portal and returned to the studio. As soon as he left, Bendy thought it was safe to return to his normal form. It would take a long time before he trusted the demon and Henry felt the same way.

Jason helped June back to the house and they all sat in the living room for a bit longer. They talked for a little while, mostly about how they were going to introduce Ben to the girls and how they might react to him. They all figured they'll handle it when it comes up.

**OoOoOoOoO**

Henry and Bendy stayed a few more days much to the delight of the girls. In that time, June hadn’t seen Ben once. She wondered if maybe she'd been too hard on him that night or maybe the fight with Bendy shook him up.

June tried not to think about it too much. It's not like she could control when he came and went. It's not like she was worried or anything…only, she was a little worried about him. But really, she knew she shouldn’t be. He was a big, scary demon. He could take care of himself. Right?

Henry and Bendy had to head back home, but they promised to come back. Soon, everyone in her household fell back into their old routines. It was kinda nice if a little quiet in the home without the little toon running around.

June stood outside on the front porch and waited for the school bus to pull up. The weather was finally getting cool enough that she had to slip on a light jacket. The bus pulled up and several kids hopped off, including Beth and Sarah. They ran up to their mom and gave her a hug.

June chuckled as both girls tried to tell her how their day was at the same time. They hadn't even taken off their coats and backpacks. June had to tell them to slow down as she helped them with their coats. She knew she would hear even more once they started their homework.

“Hey guys, how about I fix you a snack before you start your homework?” The girls cheered and they headed into the kitchen. They continued to chitchat until the girls saw a tall figure standing in the corner by the back door.

“Ben!?” The demon stood there with the cookie jar in his hands. He smiled sheepishly at being caught, again. June seemed to be getting good at that.  
  
Beth and Sarah gasped and his behind their mother. They remembered seeing this scary creature in the studio. He didn’t like it when they stared at his funny leg. Plus he took that mean lady away. Both girls didn’t know what happened to her, but her screams frightened them.

June sighed and watched as Ben placed the cookie jar back on the counter. He stood very still and waited to see what she would do. This isn't how she wanted to introduce him, but there was no time like the present. June reached down and placed her hand on top of each girl's head.

“Beth. Sarah. I'd like you to meet, Ben.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to thank everyone that enjoyed this story. I'm glad I wasn't the only one that wanted to see the lanky ink demon happy! Well, you know, without torturing someone or trying to drown them in ink... I was debating on whether this would be apart of the Shadow series or just a strange one off. I think I'll keep it in the series. I like seeing Ben happy and maybe I'll think of some other whacky scenarios for him to get into.

**Author's Note:**

> This story...oh boy, this story. Well, this story was something I wrote just to indulge myself. It was a 'what if' that a reviewer purposed to me. I'm not sure if I'll keep it as apart of the Shadows series or leave it as a silly little fantasy that a reviewer implanted in my mind. Either way, I'm having fun with it.


End file.
